The story of Duncan Leung ? childhood friend of Bruce Lee, disciple of legendary master Yip Man, and New York kung fu teacher ? is valuable not only for its insights into martial arts but also for its portrayal of the lost Hong Kong of the 1950s and 1960s. Each anecdote is introduced with a proverb or teaching from Chinese philosophy, and illustrations follow each fight story, making for an educational and entertaining read.

There are some gems in the text that have the feeling of a 1950s Hong Kong film. For example, when Leung is queueing up for an evening function and two triads jump the queue, he decks them, much to the admiration of the crowd. But he has only a moment to enjoy their adulation before he spots 20 men with broken bottles heading for him. He then runs 2km, loses his entourage and comes to rest at the Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Park, where he promptly vomits. There are also his references to his friend Bruce Lee, who to a certain extent has become more legend than man -- that as well as fighting, they were Elvis Presley fans and enjoyed dancing, at which they were apparently skilled. The book describes the two teenagers going to weekly dance classes so they could swivel their hips like the King. --South China Morning Post, March 1, 2009

The story of Duncan Leung - childhood friend of Bruce Lee and disciple of Wing Chun master Yip Man - is valuable not only for the insights it offers into Chinese martial arts but also for its portrayal of the lost Hong Kong of the 1950s and 1960s. Reading Ken Ing's Wing Chun Warrior, which chronicles Leung's Kung Fu escapades, will be a jarring revelation to anyone familiar with the manic but orderly and largely peaceful city of seven million people that is Hong Kong today. The city described by Ing is a place where Kung Fu practitioners wielded eight-chop knives in the streets and literally battled their way from one martial arts studio to another to prove their fighting prowess. -- Asia Times, May 16, 2009